Growing pains

My life has changed a huge amout over the last few days. I've gone to university! I am now a fully-fledged member of the University of York, top 10 university overall and top 4 for Biology.

Can I say this without sounding like a cheesy movie voiceover? I shall try.
My experiences over the past few days have shown me how much I have grown. There was a time that eating in a restaurant, staying in a hotel or even at someone else's house would have me in a panic. Now, I am living somewhere new, I know no one, I am sharing a kitchen with 11 other people, and I am doing alright. Yes, it is difficult. It is definitely not perfect. But I am doing alright and I do not want to go home.

I've met some good people. I can only count two of them, Michael and Shaun, as proper friends now. There is a chasm of difference between these two boys. Michael is a privately educated scholarship boy, with every d-thing you can name (dyslexic, dyspraxic, d...iabetic) and a neatness compulsion. He also has some of the most horrifying dysfunctional family stories I have ever heard. Shaun is a very Northern emo/goth/alternative guy. He's very into black humour and alternative/metal music. He dyes his hair frequently. He comes from a loving family and has only moved half an hour away because he will miss his dogs. I get on so well with both of them, I really think we will be attached in some way for the rest of our courses. What would happen if I introduced Michael to Shaun I can't imagine!

Now onto the stuff that is relevant to this blog, I'm sorry to keep you waiting so long!
Whilst Michael was being so honest about all his Ds, and another chap mentioned he had dyspraxia too, I decided to jump in with my medical condition. I have Juvenile Arthritis. This prompted a high five from Michael, who has arthritis in his foot following a 50 mile an hour bike crash into a tree. Upon explanation that I have the autoimmune form, therefore all my joints are affected, he was very sympathetic. But not in an irritating way. Let's just say he was understanding, and I felt extremely comfortable talking to him about it.

This was a revelation for me. I don't usually talk about my arthritis in real life, and only my closest friends know it. It was so odd to tell someone so soon, but it felt good.

Expressing the fact I am in pain is a next step - we will see what we can do.